Passages from Swedenborg<\/strong><\/p>\nApocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 483<\/b><\/p>\n
483. And shall lead them unto living fountains of\u00a0waters.- This signifies, in Divine truths, as is evident from the signification of living fountains of\u00a0waters, which denote Divine truths. By living is signified living from the Divine; by a fountain is signified the Word, and by\u00a0waters\u00a0are signified truths thence. Mention is frequently made of living\u00a0waters\u00a0in the Word, and by these are meant truths, which come from the Lord and are received. The reason why they are said to be living, is that the Lord is Life Itself, as He Himself teaches, and that which comes from Life Itself is alive; but that which comes from man is dead. The Lord, in order to give life to truths, flows into them, by means of good, and the good vivifies them. He also flows in from the higher or interior, opens the spiritual mind, and gives to it the affection for truth; and the spiritual affection for truth is the very life of heaven in man. This is the life which the Lord instils into man by means of truths. Hence it is evident what living\u00a0waters\u00a0and living fountains of\u00a0waters\u00a0mean in the following passages.<\/p>\n
Thus in Isaiah:<\/p>\n
“The poor and needy seek\u00a0water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness (desertum) a pool of\u00a0waters, and the dry land springs of\u00a0waters” (xli. 17, 18).<\/p>\n
The subject here is the salvation of the Gentiles by the Lord, and they are here called poor and needy from a want of and ignorance of truth; their desire to know truths from those who are in the church, where no truths existed, is described by their seeking\u00a0water\u00a0when there is none, and their tongue failing for thirst,\u00a0water\u00a0denoting truth, and thirst the desire thereof. That they shall be instructed by the Lord, is signified by, “I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys.” To open rivers denotes to impart intelligence; on the heights denotes in the interior man; in the midst of the valleys denotes in the exterior man, and to make fountains signifies to instruct in truths. To make the wilderness a pool ofwaters, and the dry land springs of\u00a0waters, signifies abundance of truth with those who were before in want of and in ignorance [of truth]. The wilderness denotes where there is no good because no truth, and the dry land, where there is no truth and thence no good; a pool of\u00a0water\u00a0and springs of\u00a0water\u00a0denote abundance of the knowledges of truth. From this it is evident that\u00a0waters, fountains, springs, rivers, and pools of\u00a0water, are not here meant, but the knowledges of truth, and thence intelligence, whence comes salvation.<\/p>\n
[3] In the same prophet:<\/p>\n
“Behold, your God will come with vengeance, and will save you. Then shall the parched place become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of\u00a0waters” (xxxv. 4, 7).<\/p>\n
These things also are said concerning the instruction of the Gentiles in truths, and their reformation by the Lord when He should come into the world. By the parched place becoming a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of\u00a0waters, are signified things similar to those mentioned above, by which the wilderness shall become a pool or collection of\u00a0waters, and the dry land springs of\u00a0waters.<\/p>\n
[4] In Jeremiah:<\/p>\n
“They shall come with weeping; and with prayers will I bring them; I will lead them to fountains of\u00a0waters\u00a0in a straight way, let them not stumble in it” (xxxi. 9).<\/p>\n
Here also the subject is the reception of the Lord by the Gentiles. That he would instruct them in genuine truths is signified by his leading them in a straight way, let them not stumble in it.<\/p>\n
In Isaiah:<\/p>\n
“They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the fountains of\u00a0water\u00a0shall he guide them” (xlix. 10).<\/p>\n
Here also the instruction of the Gentiles by the Lord is treated of. Instruction in truths is meant by leading them by the springs ofwater.<\/p>\n
[5] The signification of hungering and thirsting, may be seen above (n. 480), and also of heat and of sun (481).<\/p>\n
In Joel:<\/p>\n
“And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop down new wine (mustum), and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with\u00a0waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall\u00a0water\u00a0the stream of Shittim” (iii. 18).<\/p>\n
The signification of “the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with\u00a0waters,” is explained above (n. 433:13). A fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall\u00a0water\u00a0the river of Shittim, signifies truth out of heaven from the Lord illustrating the scientifics and knowledges which are in the natural man.<\/p>\n
[6] In David:<\/p>\n
“Thou bringest forth, O earth, at thy presence, at the presence of the God of Jacob; who turned the rock into a lake of\u00a0waters, the flint into a fountain of\u00a0waters” (Psalm cxiv. 7,8).<\/p>\n
The lake of\u00a0waters, and the fountain of\u00a0waters\u00a0here also mean truths in abundance, by which the church is formed; for by the earth bringing forth is signified the commencement of the church, which is said to bring forth, when truths are produced there, the earth denoting the church.<\/p>\n
[7] So again:<\/p>\n
Jehovah “who sendeth forth fountains into rivers; let them run between the mountains. They give drink to the beast of the fields; the wild asses quench their thirst. By them the fowl of the heavens have their habitation” (Psalm civ. 10-12).<\/p>\n
To send forth springs into the rivers signifies to give intelligence by means of truths from the Word; their going between the mountains, signifies that they are from the good of love; fountains denoting truths from the Word, rivers the things which pertain to intelligence, and mountains the goods of love. The instruction of those who are in the good of the church is signified by the words they give drink to the beast of the fields; and the instruction of those in the church who desire truths is signified by the wild asses quench their thirst; that thence the understanding is perfected, is signified by the fowl having their habitation near them. The beasts of the fields, in the spiritual sense, mean the Gentiles who are in the good of life, and wild asses, natural truth. Thirst means a desire for truths; and by the bird of the heavens are meant thoughts from the understanding.<\/p>\n
[8] That a fountain, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to Divine Truth, or Divine Truth from the Lord, consequently the Word, is evident from the following passages.<\/p>\n
In Jeremiah:<\/p>\n
“My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living\u00a0waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no\u00a0water” (ii. 13).<\/p>\n
Here Jehovah, that is, the Lord, calls Himself a fountain of livingwaters, by which is signified the Word, or Divine Truth, consequently the Lord Himself, who is the Word; for it is said, “they have forsaken me, the fountain of living\u00a0waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no\u00a0water,” which signifies that they had framed to themselves doctrinals from their own intelligence, in which there are no truths. Cisterns denote doctrinals, broken cisterns denote doctrinals that are not consistent. That can hold no\u00a0water, signifies in which there are no truths. Such are the doctrinals that are not from the Word, that is from the Lord through the Word (for the Lord teaches by means of the Word), but they are from man’s own intelligence. That they were not taught by the Lord by means of the Word, is meant by the words they have forsaken the fountain of living\u00a0waters.<\/p>\n
[9] Again,<\/p>\n
“All that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living\u00a0waters” (xvii. 13).<\/p>\n
Here similarly Jehovah, that is, the Lord, calls Himself a fountain of living\u00a0waters\u00a0from the Divine Truth, which is from Himself. To be written in the earth signifies to be condemned, concerning which see above (n. 222:6).<\/p>\n
[10] Again, in David:<\/p>\n
“They shall be filled with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt cause them to drink of the stream of delights. For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light we see light” (xxxvi. 8, 9).<\/p>\n
Fatness signifies the good of love, and the stream of delights, truth from that good; to cause them drink denotes to teach. With thee is the fountain of life, signifies that Divine Truth is with the Lord and from Him; because this is signified by the fountain of life, it is therefore added, “in thy light we see light,” for the light of the Lord signifies Divine Truth.<\/p>\n
[11] In Zechariah:<\/p>\n
“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land” (xiii. 1, 2).<\/p>\n
Here also the subject is the coming of the Lord. That those who are in the kingdom of the Lord shall then understand the Word, or the Divine Truth contained therein, is signified by, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,” a fountain signifying the Word, the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spiritual kingdom of the Lord with those in the heavens and on the earth who are in Divine Truths; for sin and for uncleanness, signifies the removal of evils and falsities by means of truths from the Word. Because a fountain means the Word or the Divine Truth therein, it is therefore said, “I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.” False religion is signified by idols, false doctrine by prophets, and the evils flowing from falsities of doctrine by the unclean spirit; for when man lives according to the falsities of religion and of doctrine, he becomes an unclean spirit.<\/p>\n
[12] That Divine Truth from the Lord is meant by a fountain, the Lord Himself plainly teaches in John.<\/p>\n
When He sat at Jacob’s well in the land of Samaria, He said to the Samaritan woman, “Every one that drinketh of this\u00a0water\u00a0shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give him shall become in him a well of\u00a0water\u00a0springing up unto eternal life” (iv. 6, 13, 14).<\/p>\n
Here it is evident that the\u00a0water\u00a0which the Lord gives, does not mean\u00a0water, but Divine Truth, for it is said from the\u00a0water\u00a0which the woman of Samaria came to draw, that a man thirsts again, but not so from the\u00a0water\u00a0which the Lord gives. That there is life in that truth, is meant by that\u00a0water\u00a0becoming in him a well of\u00a0water\u00a0springing up unto eternal life. That there is life in truths when the Lord gives them, may be seen in this article above. The reason why the Lord said these things to the woman of Samaria, when He sat at the well of Jacob, was, that by the Samaritans the Lord meant the Gentiles, who would receive Divine truths from Him; and by the woman of Samaria, the church from them; and by Jacob’s well He meant Divine Truth from Himself, or the Word.<\/p>\n
[13] In Moses:<\/p>\n
“Thus Israel dwelleth in safety alone at the fountain of Jacob” (Deut. xxxiii. 28).<\/p>\n
These words form the conclusion of the prophecy of Moses concerning the sons of Israel. Because in that prophecy Israel signifies the church which is in Divine truths from the Word, therefore it is said at the fountain of Jacob, which means the Word, and thus also the Lord as to the Word; for He is the Word, because He is the Divine Truth, as He teaches in John (chap. i. 1-3). These things are said at the end of that prophecy, because in it the Word is treated of. The same is meant by that fountain in the prophecy of the patriarch Israel concerning Joseph:<\/p>\n
“The son of a fruitful one is Joseph, the son of a fruitful one near a fountain” (Gen. xlix. 22).<\/p>\n
A fountain here means the fountain of Jacob, for the field in which that fountain was situated, was given to Joseph by his father (John iv. 5, 6). What is signified by Joseph being the son of a fruitful one near a fountain, may be seen above (n. 448:6). By a fountain is also meant the Word, and by fountains Divine truths therefrom, as in David:<\/p>\n
“Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord, from the fountain of Israel” (Psalm lxviii. 26).<\/p>\n
In the Apocalypse:<\/p>\n
“I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the\u00a0water\u00a0of life freely” (xxi. 6).<\/p>\n
In Isaiah:<\/p>\n
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw\u00a0waters\u00a0out of the fountains of salvation” (xii. 3).<\/p>\n
In David:<\/p>\n
“All my fountains are in thee,” O Jehovah (lxxxvii. 7).<\/p>\n
[14] Since most things in the Word have an opposite sense, and so also have the words fountain and fountains, in which sense they signify the doctrine of falsities, and the falsities of doctrine, as in Jeremiah:<\/p>\n
“I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry” (li. 36).<\/p>\n
This is spoken of Babylon; and by her sea are signified her falsities in their entirety, and by her fountain the doctrine of falsity.<\/p>\n
[15] So in Hosea:<\/p>\n
“An east wind shall come, the wind of Jehovah shall come up from the wilderness, and his fountain shall become dry, and his spring shall be dried up” (xiii. 15).<\/p>\n
This is spoken of Ephraim, who there signifies the perverted understanding of the Word, by which falsities are confirmed by means of the Word; the destruction thereof is signified by his fountain becoming dry, and his spring being dried up by the east wind, the wind of Jehovah from the wilderness. A fountain denotes the doctrine of falsity, a spring, the false thereof, and the east wind from the desert the destruction of it from fallacies which are from sensual externals. For sensual external things, when they are not illustrated from things internal, destroy the understanding of man, because all fallacies are thence derived.<\/p>\n
[16] Again, in David:<\/p>\n
“Thou didst break up the sea by thy strength; thou brakest the heads of the sea monsters in the\u00a0waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people of Tziim. Thou didst break through the fountains and the river; thou driedst up mighty rivers” (Psalm lxxiv. 13-15).<\/p>\n
Here also, by fountains and rivers are signified the falsities of doctrine from man’s own intelligence; the mighty rivers are confirmed principles of falsity thence. The sea monsters and leviathan signify the scientifics which pertain to the sensual and natural man, from which all falsity springs when the spiritual man above them is closed. Man’s proprium resides in the sensual and natural man, therefore conclusions formed from these alone are formed from the proprium, or from man’s own intelligence; for the Divine flows in through the spiritual man into the natural, but not into the natural when the spiritual above it is closed, whereas the spiritual man is opened by means of truths, and by a life according to them. The people Tziim to whom leviathan is said to be given for meat, signify those who are in infernal falsities.<\/p>\n
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2702<\/b><\/p>\n
2702. ‘And she saw a well of\u00a0water’ means the Lord’s Word from which truths are drawn. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a well ofwater’ and of ‘a spring’ as the Word, also as doctrine drawn from the Word, and consequently as truth itself, dealt with in what follows immediately below; and from the meaning of ‘water’ as truth. That ‘a well’ which has\u00a0water\u00a0in it, and ‘a spring’, mean the Word of the Lord, also doctrine drawn from the Word, and so consequently truth itself, may become clear from very many places. Here because the subject is the spiritual Church the word ‘well’ and not spring is used in subsequent verses of this chapter,<\/p>\n
Abraham reproached Abimelech on account of the well which Abimelech’s servants had seized (verse 25).<\/p>\n
Also in Genesis 26,<\/p>\n
All the wells which the servants of Isaac’s father had dug, in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up. And Isaac returned and dug [again] the wells of\u00a0water\u00a0which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had been stopping them up after Abraham’s death. And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living\u00a0waters. And they dug another well and disputed over that also. And he moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not dispute over that. And it happened on that day, that Isaac’s servants came and pointed out to him the reasons for the well which they had dug; and they said to him, We have found\u00a0waters\u00a0(verses 15, 18-22, 25, 32).<\/p>\n
[2] In these verses nothing else is meant by ‘wells’ than matters of doctrine – both those about which they disputed, and those about which they did not. Otherwise their digging of wells and their disputing so many times about them would not be important enough to be mentioned in the Divine Word.<\/p>\n
‘The well’ referred to in Moses in a similar way means the Word or doctrine,<\/p>\n
They travelled to Beer. This was the well of which Jehovah said to Moses, Gather the people and I will give them\u00a0water. Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well! Answer from it! The well which the princes dug, which the willing ones* of the people dug out, as directed by the law-giver, with their staves. Num. 21:16-18.<\/p>\n
Because ‘a well’ meant the Word, doctrine drawn from it, and truth itself, this prophetic song therefore existed in Israel – a song in which the doctrine of truth is the inner theme, as is clear from everything contained in the internal sense. From this the name Beer is derived, and the name Beersheba,** and its meaning in the internal sense as doctrine itself.<\/p>\n
[3] Doctrine however that has no truths in it is called ‘a pit’, or a well with no\u00a0water\u00a0in it, as in Jeremiah,<\/p>\n
Their illustrious ones sent their lesser ones to the\u00a0water; they came to the pits; they found no\u00a0water; they returned with their vessels empty. Jer. 14:3.<\/p>\n
Here ‘waters’ stands for truths, ‘the pits in which they found nowaters’ for doctrine that has no truth within it. In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the source of living\u00a0waters, to hollow out pits for themselves, broken pits, which cannot hold\u00a0water. Jer. 2:13.<\/p>\n
Here in a similar way ‘pits’ stands for doctrines that are not true, ‘broken pits’ for matters of doctrine that have been ravaged.<\/p>\n
[4] As regards ‘a spring’ meaning the Word, also doctrine, and therefore truth, this is seen in Isaiah,<\/p>\n
The afflicted and the needy were seeking\u00a0water, and there was none; their tongue was parched with thirst. I Jehovah will hearken to them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the sloping heights, and springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of\u00a0water, and the dry land into streams ofwater. Isa. 41:17, 18.<\/p>\n
In the first place this refers to the desolation of truth, which is meant by the statements that ‘the afflicted and needy sought\u00a0water\u00a0and there was none’, and that ‘their tongue was parched with thirst’. Then it refers, as in the present verses in Genesis where Hagar is the subject, to the comfort, renewal, and instruction following desolation, which are meant by the promise that ‘Jehovah will open the rivers on the sloping heights, will place springs in the midst of valleys, make the wilderness into a pool of\u00a0water, and the dry land into streams ofwater’, all of which have to do with the doctrine of truth and the affection acquired from this.<\/p>\n
[5] In Moses,<\/p>\n
Israel dwelt securely, alone at Jacob’s spring, in a land of corn and new wine; even his heavens distil the dew. Deut. 33:28.<\/p>\n
‘Jacob’s spring’ stands for the Word and the doctrine of truth drawn from it. It was because Jacob’s spring meant the Word, and the doctrine of truth drawn from it, that when the Lord came to Jacob’s spring He talked to the woman from Samaria and taught what is meant by the spring and by\u00a0water. The incident is described in John as follows,<\/p>\n
Jesus came to a city of Samaria called Sychar. Jacob’s spring was there. Jesus therefore, weary from the journey, sat thus by the spring. A woman from Samaria came to draw\u00a0water, to whom Jesus said, Give Me a drink. Jesus said, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would ask of Him to give you living\u00a0water. Everyone who drinks of this\u00a0water\u00a0will thirst again, but he who drinks of the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give him will never thirst. But the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give him will become in him a spring of\u00a0water\u00a0welling up into eternal life. John 4:5-7, 10, 13, 14.<\/p>\n
Because ‘Jacob’s spring’ meant the Word, ‘water’ truth, and ‘Samaria’ the spiritual Church, as is the case many times in the Word, therefore the Lord talked to the woman from Samaria and taught that the doctrine of truth is derived from Himself, and that when it is derived from Himself, or what amounts to the same, from His Word, it is ‘a spring of\u00a0water\u00a0welling up into eternal life’; also that the truth itself is ‘living\u00a0water’.<\/p>\n
[6] Similar teaching occurs in the same gospel,<\/p>\n
Jesus said, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture says, Out of his belly will flow rivers of living\u00a0water. John 7:37, 38.<\/p>\n
And in the Book of Revelation,<\/p>\n
The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will guide them to living springs of\u00a0water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Rev. 7:17.<\/p>\n
In the same book,<\/p>\n
To him who thirsts I will give from the spring of living\u00a0waterwithout price. Rev. 21:6.<\/p>\n
‘Rivers of living\u00a0water’ and ‘living springs of\u00a0water’ stand for truths which are derived from the Lord, that is, from His Word, for the Lord is the Word. The good of love and charity which comes solely from the Lord is the life of truth. The expression ‘he who thirsts’ is used of one who is stirred by a love and affection for truth; no other can so thirst.<\/p>\n
[7] These truths are also called ‘the springs of salvation’ in Isaiah,<\/p>\n
With joy you will draw\u00a0water\u00a0from the springs of salvation, and you will say on that day, Confess Jehovah, call on His name. Isa. 12:3, 4.<\/p>\n
That ‘a spring’ means the Word, or doctrine drawn from it, is also evident in Joel,<\/p>\n
It will happen on that day, that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will run with milk, and all the streams of Judah will run with\u00a0water, and a spring will come forth from the house of Jehovah and will\u00a0water\u00a0the river of Shittim. Joel 3:18.<\/p>\n
Here ‘water’ stands for truths, ‘a spring from the house of Jehovah’ for the Word of the Lord.<\/p>\n
[8] In Jeremiah,<\/p>\n
Behold I am bringing them from the north land, and I will gather them from the extremities of the earth, among them the blind one and the lame. With weeping they will come, and with supplications I will bring them to springs of\u00a0water\u00a0in a straight path on which they will not stumble. Jer. 31:8, 9.<\/p>\n
‘Springs of\u00a0water\u00a0in a straight path’ plainly stands for matters of doctrine concerning truth. ‘The north land’ stands for the lack of knowledge or the desolation of truth, ‘weeping and supplications’ for their state of grief and despair. ‘Being brought to springs of\u00a0water’ stands for renewal and instruction in truths, as in this chapter of Genesis where Hagar and her son are the subject.<\/p>\n
[9] The same matters are presented in Isaiah as follows,<\/p>\n
The wilderness and the dry land will be glad for them; and the lonely place will rejoice and blossom like the rose. It will bud prolifically, and will rejoice also with rejoicing and singing. The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of Jehovah, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.Waters\u00a0will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the lonely place; and the dry place will become a pool and the thirsty ground wellsprings of\u00a0water. Isa. 35:1-3, 5-7.<\/p>\n
Here ‘a wilderness’ stands for a desolation of truth. ‘Waters’, ‘streams’, ‘a pool’, ‘wellsprings of\u00a0water’ stand for truths which serve to renew and give joy to people who have experienced vastation and whose joys are described in many ways here.<\/p>\n
[10] In David,<\/p>\n
Jehovah sends forth springs in the valleys; they will go among the mountains.<\/p>\n
They will give drink to every wild beast of the fields; the wild asses will quench their thirst. He\u00a0waters\u00a0the mountains from His chambers. Ps. 104:10, 11, 13.<\/p>\n
‘Springs’ stands for truths, ‘mountains’ for the love of good and truth, ‘giving drink’ for giving teaching, ‘wild beasts of the fields’ for people who live by that teaching, see 774, 841, 908, ‘wild asses’ for those who have none but rational truth, 1949-1951.<\/p>\n
[11] In Moses,<\/p>\n
The son of a fruitful one is Joseph, the son of a fruitful one beside a spring. Gen. 49:22.<\/p>\n
‘A spring’ stands for doctrine from the Lord. In the same author,<\/p>\n
Jehovah your God will bring you into a good land, a land of rivers,waters, springs, depths gushing out in valleys and mountains. Deut. 8:7.<\/p>\n
‘A land’ stands for the Lord’s kingdom and Church, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 2571, which is called ‘good’ from the good of love and charity. ‘Rivers’, ‘waters’, ‘springs’, and ‘depths’ stand for the truths derived from that good. In the same author,<\/p>\n
The land of Canaan, a land of mountains and valleys, on the arrival of the rain of heaven it drinks\u00a0water. Deut. 11:11.<\/p>\n
[12] That ‘waters’ means truths, both spiritual and rational, and also factual, is evident from the following places: In Isaiah,<\/p>\n
Behold, the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the whole staff of bread and the whole staff of\u00a0water. Isa. 3:1.<\/p>\n
In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
To the thirsty bring\u00a0water; meet with his bread the fugitive. Isa. 21:14.<\/p>\n
In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
Blessed are you who sow beside all\u00a0waters. Isa. 32:20.<\/p>\n
In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
He who walks in righteous ways and speaks upright words will dwell on the heights; his bread will be given to him, his\u00a0water\u00a0will be sure. Isa. 33:15, 16.<\/p>\n
In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
At that time they will not thirst; in the wilderness He will lead them; He will make\u00a0water\u00a0flow for them from the rock. And He cleaves the rock and the\u00a0water\u00a0flows out. Isa. 48:21; Exod. 17:1-8; Num. 20:11, 13.<\/p>\n
In David,<\/p>\n
He split rocks in the wilderness and caused them to drink abundantly like the depths. He brought streams out of the rock and caused\u00a0waters\u00a0to descend like a river. Ps. 78:15, 16.<\/p>\n
Here ‘rock’ stands for the Lord, ‘water, streams, and the depths from it’ for truths derived from Him.<\/p>\n
[13] In the same author,<\/p>\n
Jehovah turns rivers into a wilderness, and streams of\u00a0waters\u00a0into a dryness. He turns a wilderness into a pool of\u00a0water, and parched land into streams of\u00a0waters. Ps. 107:33, 35.<\/p>\n
In the same author,<\/p>\n
The voice of Jehovah is upon the\u00a0waters; Jehovah is upon manywaters. Ps. 29:3.<\/p>\n
In the same author,<\/p>\n
There is a river whose streams will make glad the city of God, the holy place of the dwellings of the Most High. Ps. 46:4.<\/p>\n
In the same author,<\/p>\n
By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all their host by the spirit of His mouth. He gathered the\u00a0waters\u00a0of the sea together as a heap; He placed the depths in storehouses. Ps. 33:6, 7.<\/p>\n
In the same author,<\/p>\n
You visit the earth and delight in it, You enrich it very greatly; the river of God is full of\u00a0water. Ps. 65:9.<\/p>\n
In the same author,<\/p>\n
The\u00a0waters\u00a0have seen You, O God, the\u00a0waters\u00a0have seen You. The depths trembled, the clouds poured out\u00a0water. Your way was in the sea, and Your path in many\u00a0waters. Ps. 77:16, 17, 19.<\/p>\n
It is evident to anyone that ‘waters’ here do not mean\u00a0waters, and that ‘the depths trembled’ and ‘Jehovah’s way was in the sea and His path in the\u00a0waters’, are not meant literally, but that spiritual\u00a0watersare meant, that is, things of a spiritual kind, which are matters of truth; otherwise it would all be just a heap of meaningless words. In Isaiah,<\/p>\n
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the\u00a0waters, and he who has no money, come, buy! Isa. 55:1.<\/p>\n
In Zechariah,<\/p>\n
It will happen on that day, that living\u00a0waters\u00a0will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. Zech. 14:8.<\/p>\n
[14] Furthermore when the Church which is about to be established or which has been established is the subject in the Word and it is described by a paradise, a garden, a grove, or by trees, it is usual for it to be described also by\u00a0waters\u00a0or rivers running through, which mean things of a spiritual, rational, or factual kind, which are matters of truth. Paradise as described in Gen. 2:8, 9, for example, is also described by the rivers there, verses 10-14, which mean things that are attributes of wisdom and intelligence, see 107-121. Similar examples occur many times elsewhere in the Word, as in Moses,<\/p>\n
Like valleys that are planted, like gardens beside a river, like aloes Jehovah has planted, like cedars beside the\u00a0waters.\u00a0Waters\u00a0will flow from his buckets, and his seed will be in many\u00a0waters. Num. 24:6, 7.<\/p>\n
In Ezekiel,<\/p>\n
He took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a seed field; he took it to be beside many\u00a0waters. It sprouted and became a spreading vine. Ezek. 17:5, 6.<\/p>\n
‘A vine’ and ‘a vineyard’ mean the spiritual Church, see 1069. In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
Your mother was like a vine in your likeness, planted beside thewaters; fruitful, and made full of branches by reason of many\u00a0waters. Ezek. 19:10.<\/p>\n
[15] In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
Behold, Asshur [was a cedar] in Lebanon; the\u00a0waters\u00a0caused it to grow, the depth made it high, with its rivers going round about the place of its planting; and he sent out his lines of\u00a0water\u00a0to all the trees of the field. Ezek. 31:3, 4.<\/p>\n
In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
Behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees, on this side and on that. He said to me, These\u00a0waters\u00a0are going out towards the eastern boundary, and they go down over the plain, and they go towards the sea, having been sent away into the sea; and the\u00a0watersare fresh. And it will be that every living creature that creeps, in every place which the two rivers come to, will live; and there will be very many fish, for these\u00a0waters\u00a0go there, and become fresh, so that everything may live where the river goes. Its swamps and its marshes are not healed; they will be given up to salt. Ezek. 47:7-9 , 11.<\/p>\n
This refers to the New Jerusalem or Lord’s spiritual kingdom. ‘Waters\u00a0going out towards the eastern boundary’ means things that are spiritual flowing from those which are celestial, or truths derived from a celestial source, that is, faith springing from love and charity, 101, 1250. ‘Going down into the plain’ means matters of doctrine belonging to the rational, 2418, 2450. ‘Going towards the sea’ means towards factual knowledge, ‘the sea’ being a gathering together of facts, 28. ‘The living creature that creeps’ means the delights which go with these, 746, 909, 994, which will receive their life from ‘thewaters\u00a0of the river’, that is, from spiritual things derived from a celestial source. ‘Many fish’ stands for an abundance of appropriate facts, 40, 991, while ‘swamps and marshes’ stands for such as are inappropriate and impure. ‘Turning into salt’ stands for becoming vastated, 2455. In Jeremiah,<\/p>\n
Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah. He will be like a tree planted beside the\u00a0waters, which sends out its roots beside the stream. Jer. 17:7, 8.<\/p>\n
In David,<\/p>\n
He will be like a tree planted beside streams of\u00a0water, which will yield its fruit in its season. Ps. 1:3.<\/p>\n
In John,<\/p>\n
He showed me a pure river of the\u00a0water\u00a0of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and of the river, on this side and on that, was the tree of life bearing twelve fruits. Rev. 22:1, 2.<\/p>\n
[16] Now because ‘waters’ means truths in the internal sense of the Word it was therefore commanded in the Jewish Church, for the sake of representation before the eyes of the angels who beheld ritual acts in a spiritual way, that the priests and Levites should wash themselves with\u00a0water\u00a0when they came to perform their duties, and that they should do so with\u00a0water\u00a0from the layer placed between the tent and the altar, and later on with\u00a0water\u00a0from the bronze sea and all the other lavers around the temple, which were there in place of a spring. In a similar way for the sake of representation the ritual involving the\u00a0water\u00a0of sin or of expiation which was to be sprinkled over the Levites was established, Num. 8:7, also the ritual involving the\u00a0water\u00a0of separation from the ashes of the red cow, Num. 19:2-19, as well as the requirement that spoils taken from the Midianites were to be cleansed with\u00a0water, Num. 31:19-25.<\/p>\n
[17] The\u00a0water\u00a0provided out of the rock, Exod. 17:1-8; Num. 20:1-13, represented and meant an abundance of spiritual things, that is, of truths of faith from the Lord. The bitter\u00a0waters\u00a0which were made drinkable by means of the wood, Exod. 15:22-25, represented and meant that truths, from being unpleasant, are made acceptable and gratifying by virtue of good, that is, of the affection for it – ‘wood’ meaning good which constitutes affection or the will, see 643. From these considerations one may now see what ‘water’ means in the Word, and from this what the\u00a0water\u00a0used in baptism means, regarding which the Lord says the following in John,<\/p>\n
Unless a person has been born from\u00a0water\u00a0and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5.<\/p>\n
That is to say, ‘water’ means the spiritual constituent of faith, and ‘the spirit’ the celestial constituent of it, so that baptism is the symbol of man’s regeneration by the Lord by means of the truths and goods of faith. Not that a person’s regeneration is accomplished in baptism, but by the life, the sign of which life is denoted in baptism, and into which life Christians who possess the truths of faith because they have the Word must enter.<\/p>\n
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 71<\/b><\/p>\n
71. And his voice as the voice of many\u00a0<\/span>waters. That this signifies Divine truth in ultimates, is evident from the signification of a voice, when it is from the Lord, as denoting Divine truth (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia, n. 219, 220, 3563, 6971, 8813, 8914, and above, n. 55), and from the signification of thewaters, as denoting the truths of faith, and also the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth (concerning which see n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10,238); and because the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth are in ultimates, therefore by His voice as the voice of many\u00a0<\/span>waters, because it relates to the Lord, is signified Divine truth in ultimates. (That knowledges (cognitiones) and Scientifics (scientifica) belong to the external or natural man, because they are in the light of the world, thus, in ultimates, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 5212, and in general from what is said in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 51.) As it is not yet known that\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>in the Word signify the truths of faith and the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth, and, perhaps, because it appears far-fetched, I wish here briefly to show that such things are meant by\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>in the Word. This is also necessary because without a knowledge of the signification ofwaters, it cannot be known what is signified by baptism, nor what by the washings observed in the Israelitish Church, of which mention is so frequently made.\u00a0<\/span>Waters\u00a0<\/span>signify the truths of faith, because bread signifies the good of love; the reason why\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>and bread have such a signification is that the things that pertain to spiritual nourishment are expressed, in the sense of the letter, by those things that have reference to natural nourishment. For bread and\u00a0<\/span>water, by which are meant all food and drink in general, nourish the body, and the truths of faith and the good of love nourish the soul. This is also from correspondence; for when bread and\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>are read in the Word, the angels, being spiritual, understand those things which nourish them; these are the goods of love and the truths of faith.<\/p>\n[2] But some passages shall be here adduced, whence it may be known that\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>signify the truths of faith, likewise the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth. Thus in Isaiah:<\/p>\n“The earth shall be full of the knowledge (scientia) of Jehovah, as the\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>cover the sea” (xi. 9).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“With joy shall ye draw\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>out of the fountains of salvation” (xii. 3).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“He that walketh in justice, and speaketh uprightnesses, bread shall be given him, and sure\u00a0<\/span>waters” (xxxiii. 15, 16).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“The poor and the needy seek\u00a0<\/span>water, but there is none; their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of\u00a0<\/span>waters, and the dry land springs of\u00a0<\/span>waters. That they may see, and know, and hearken, and understand” (xli. 17, 18, 20).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“I will pour out\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>upon him that is thirsty; and, floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring” (xliv. 3).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“Thy light shall arise in obscurity, and thy darkness as the noon-day; that thou mayest be as a\u00a0<\/span>watered\u00a0<\/span>garden, and as the going forth of\u00a0<\/span>waters, whose\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>shall not lie” (lviii. 10).<\/p>\nIn Jeremiah:<\/p>\n
“My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living\u00a0<\/span>waters, to hew out for themselves pits that hold nowater” (ii. 13).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“Their nobles sent their little ones for\u00a0<\/span>water; they came to the pits, and found no\u00a0<\/span>waters; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded” (xiv. 3).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“They have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living\u00a0<\/span>waters” (xvii. 13).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“They shall come with weeping, and with weeping will I lead them; I will lead them to fountains of\u00a0<\/span>waters, in a way of rectitude” (xxxi. 9).<\/p>\nAnd in Ezekiel:<\/p>\n
“I will break the staff of bread, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>by measure, and with astonishment. That they may want bread and\u00a0<\/span>water, and be desolated, a man and his brother, and consume away for their iniquities” (iv. 16, 17; xii. 18, 19; Isaiah, li. 14).<\/p>\nAnd in Amos:<\/p>\n
“Behold, the days come, in which I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for\u00a0<\/span>waters, but for hearing the Word of Jehovah. They shall wander from sea to sea, they shall run to and fro, to seek the Word of Jehovah, and shall not find it; in that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst” (viii. 11-13).<\/p>\nAnd in Zechariah;<\/p>\n
“In that day living\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>shall go out from Jerusalem” (xiv. 8).<\/p>\nAnd in David:<\/p>\n
“Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want. He will lead me to thewaters\u00a0<\/span>of rest” (Psalm xxiii. 1, 2).<\/p>\nIn Isaiah:<\/p>\n
“They shall not thirst; he will make\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>to flow for them out of the rock, and he will cleave the rock, that the\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>may flow out” (xlviii. 21).<\/p>\nIn David:<\/p>\n
“O God, early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth, weary withoutwaters” (Psalm lxiii. 1).<\/p>\n
Again:<\/p>\n
Jehovah “sendeth his Word, he maketh the wind to blow, that thewaters\u00a0<\/span>may flow” (Psalm cxlvii. 18).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
“Praise Jehovah, ye heavens of heavens, and ye\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>which are above the heavens” (cxlviii. 4).<\/p>\nIn John:<\/p>\n
Jesus came to the fountain of Jacob; “A woman of Samaria came to draw\u00a0<\/span>water, to whom Jesus said, Give me to drink; – if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest ask of him, and he would give thee living\u00a0<\/span>water. The woman said unto him, Whence hast thou that living\u00a0<\/span>water? Jesus said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>that I shall give him, shall be in him a fountain of\u00a0<\/span>water, springing up into everlasting life” (iv. 7-15).<\/p>\nAgain:<\/p>\n
Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living\u00a0<\/span>water” (vii. 37, 38).<\/p>\nAnd in the Apocalypse:<\/p>\n
“Unto him that is athirst shall be given of the fountain of the\u00a0<\/span>waterof life freely” (xxi. 6).<\/p>\nAnd in another place:<\/p>\n
The angel showed him “a river of\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (xxii. 1).<\/p>\nAnd again:<\/p>\n
“The spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>of life freely” (xxii. 17).<\/p>\n[3] These passages are adduced, that it may be known that by\u00a0<\/span>watersin the Word are signified the truths of faith, and hence what is signified by the\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>of baptism, concerning which the Lord thus teaches in John:<\/p>\n“Except a man be born of\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (iii. 5);<\/p>\nwhere\u00a0<\/span>water\u00a0<\/span>denotes the truths of faith, and the spirit a life according to them (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 202-209, and the following numbers). Because it has not hitherto been known that\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>signify the truths of faith, and that all things that were instituted amongst the sons of Israel were representative of spiritual things, it has therefore been believed, that by the washings commanded them their sins were wiped away, although they were in no sense wiped away; those washings only represented purification from evils and falsities, by means of the truths of faith and a life according to them (as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 3147, 5954, 10,237, 10,240). From these considerations it is now clear, that by His voice as the voice of many\u00a0<\/span>waters, is meant Divine truth; as also in Ezekiel:<\/p>\n“Behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and his voice was as the voice of many\u00a0<\/span>waters; and the earth was enlightened by his glory” (xliii. 2).<\/p>\nAnd in David:<\/p>\n
“The voice of Jehovah is upon the\u00a0<\/span>waters, Jehovah is upon manywaters” (Ps. xxix. 3).<\/p>\nAnd in the following words in the Apocalypse:<\/p>\n
“I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many\u00a0<\/span>waters” (xiv. 2).<\/p>\n[4] I know that some will wonder why\u00a0<\/span>waters\u00a0<\/span>are mentioned in the Word, and not the truths of faith, although the purpose of the Word is to teach man about his spiritual life; and if the truths of faith had been mentioned instead of\u00a0<\/span>waters, men would have known that thewaters\u00a0<\/span>of baptism and of washings contribute nothing to his purification from evils and falsities. But it must be noted, that the Word, to be Divine, and at the same time to be for heaven and the church, must be altogether natural in the letter; for unless this were the case, it could not be the medium of effecting the conjunction of heaven with the church; for it would be like a house without a foundation, and like a soul without a body; for the ultimates include all the interiors, and are their foundation (as may be seen above, n. 41). Man also is in ultimates, and heaven has its foundation upon the church in him. This is why the style in which the Word is written is of such a character; therefore, when man thinks spiritually from the natural things which are in the sense of the letter of the Word, he is conjoined with heaven which could not otherwise be the case.<\/p>\nArcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 790<\/b><\/p>\n
790. ‘Waters’ here and in what follows means falsities. This becomes clear from the places in the Word quoted in the preliminary section of this chapter* and from those at verse 6 of this chapter, where the flood or inundation of\u00a0waters\u00a0is the subject. In those places it was shown that ‘inundations of\u00a0waters’ meant desolations and temptations, which entail the same thing as falsities, for desolations and temptations are nothing else than inundations of falsities that have been activated by evil spirits. The reason why such\u00a0watersmean falsities is that generally ‘waters’ in the Word means that which is spiritual, that is, that which is intellectual, rational, and factual. And since\u00a0waters\u00a0mean these they also mean their opposites, for every falsity is a factual matter, and seemingly rational and intellectual since it is a matter belonging to thought.<\/p>\n
[2] That ‘waters’ means spiritual things is clear from very many places in the Word. But that ‘waters’ also means falsities, let the passages that follow, in addition to those quoted already, serve to confirm the point. In Isaiah,<\/p>\n
This people have refused the\u00a0waters\u00a0of Shiloah that go out gently. Therefore, behold the Lord is causing to rise up over them the\u00a0watersof the river, mighty and many. And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. Isa. 8:6, 7.<\/p>\n
Here ‘waters\u00a0that go out gently’ stands for spiritual things, ‘watersmighty and many’ for falsities. In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Gush, sending ambassadors to the sea, and in vessels of papyrus over the face’ of the\u00a0waters! Go, you swift ambassadors, to a nation marked out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled. Isa. 18:1, 2.<\/p>\n
This stands for falsities, which belong to ‘the land shadowing with wings’.<\/p>\n
[3] In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
When you pass through the\u00a0waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. Isa. 43:2.<\/p>\n
‘Waters’ and ‘rivers’ stand for difficulties, and also for falsities. In Jeremiah,<\/p>\n
What have you to do with the way to Egypt, to drink the\u00a0waters\u00a0of Shihor? And what have you to do with the way to Asshur, to drink the\u00a0waters\u00a0of the River? Jer. 2:18.<\/p>\n
‘Waters’ stands for falsities arising out of reasonings. In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
Who is this coming up like a river, like the rivers his\u00a0waters\u00a0are tossed about? Egypt comes up like the river, and like the rivers hiswaters\u00a0are tossed about. And he said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it. Jer. 46:7, 8.<\/p>\n
‘Waters’ stands for falsities arising out of reasonings.<\/p>\n
[4] In Ezekiel,<\/p>\n
Thus said the Lord Jehovah, When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I shall cause the deep to come up over you, and many\u00a0waters\u00a0have covered you, I will cause you to go down with those who go down into the Pit. Ezek. 16:19, 20.<\/p>\n
‘Waters’ stands for evils and derivative falsities. In Habakkuk,<\/p>\n
You did trample the sea with Your horses, the mud of many\u00a0waters. Hab. 3:15.<\/p>\n
‘Waters’ stands for falsities. In John,<\/p>\n
The dragon poured\u00a0water\u00a0like a stream out of his mouth after the woman, to swallow her up in the river. Rev. 11:15, 16.<\/p>\n
Here ‘waters’ stands for falsities and lies. In David,<\/p>\n
Send forth Your hands from on high, rescue me, and deliver me from the many\u00a0waters, from the hands of sons of the foreigner, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are right hands of falsity. Ps. 144:7, 8.<\/p>\n
Here ‘many\u00a0waters’ clearly stands for falsities, and ‘sons of the foreigner also means falsities.<\/p>\n
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10238<\/b><\/p>\n
10238. ‘And put\u00a0water\u00a0in it’ means the truths of faith by means of which purification in the natural is accomplished. This is clear from the meaning of ‘water’ as the truths of faith, dealt with in 28, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323; and from the meaning of ‘the laver’ as the natural, dealt with above in 10235. Anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith will fail to grasp the meaning of very many statements in the Word, such as unless a person is born of\u00a0water\u00a0and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God, John 3:5. Those who take\u00a0water\u00a0here to mean nothing other than\u00a0water\u00a0think that the\u00a0water\u00a0of baptism is the means by which a person is regenerated. But in fact the\u00a0water\u00a0does nothing towards regeneration, only the truth of faith and the good of love do so; forwater\u00a0washes away solely dirt that is on the body and by no means evils present in the heart.<\/p>\n
[2] Anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith cannot know what baptism means, either. He thinks that the external act saves a person, when in fact the external act does not accomplish anything, only the inner reality meant by it, namely regeneration by means of the truths of faith. Baptism makes people belonging to the Church different from everyone else throughout the world, because unlike those outside the Church they are able to be regenerated by means of the truths of faith. For the Word, which contains the truths of faith, exists within the Church.<\/p>\n
[3] Nor can anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith know what is meant in Gen. 1:6-10 by the\u00a0waters\u00a0above the expanse and the\u00a0waters\u00a0under the expanse. Truths of faith within the internal man are meant by ‘the\u00a0waters\u00a0above the expanse’, and truths of faith in the external by ‘the\u00a0waters\u00a0under the expanse’; for the subject in that chapter is the new creation, thus the regeneration, of members of the Most Ancient Church.<\/p>\n
[4] Nor can anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith know what is meant by ‘water’ in John,<\/p>\n
He who drinks of the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give will never thirst. But thewater\u00a0that I shall give will become in him a spring of\u00a0water\u00a0welling up into eternal life. John 4:13, 14.<\/p>\n
And in Isaiah,<\/p>\n
The poor and the needy are seeking\u00a0water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of\u00a0water, and the dry land into wellsprings of\u00a0water. Isa. 41:17, 18.<\/p>\n
And again in the same prophet,<\/p>\n
They will not thirst. He will make\u00a0water\u00a0flow for them from the rock; and He will cleave the rock so that\u00a0water\u00a0flows out. Isa. 48:20, 21.<\/p>\n
And in very many other places. But see what has been stated and shown previously on these matters,<\/p>\n
Purification from evils and falsities is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, 2799, 5954(end), 7044, 7918, 9089, 10229.
\nSo too is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9959.
\n‘Baptism’ means regeneration by means of the truths of faith, 4255, 5120(end), 9089.
\nPurification is accomplished within the natural, 3147, 9572.
\nAnd so is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9325.<\/p>\n
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8568<\/b><\/p>\n
8568. ‘And the people thirsted there for\u00a0water’ means an increase in the desire for truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘thirsting’ as craving and desiring, and as having reference to truth just as ‘hungering’ has reference to good; and from the meaning of ‘water’ as the truth of faith, dealt with above in 8562. The fact that ‘thirsting’ is craving and desiring – desiring truth, meant by ‘water’ – is plainly evident from a large number of places in the Word, such as in Amos,<\/p>\n
Behold, the days are going to come, in which I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for\u00a0water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. And they will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; and they will run to and fro to seek the Word of Jehovah, and will not find it. On that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst. Amos 8:11-13.<\/p>\n
The desire to know the truth is described here by ‘thirsting’. The desire for truth is meant by ‘I will not send a thirst for\u00a0water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah’ and by ‘they will run to and fro to seek the Word of Jehovah’. The lack of truth and a resulting deprivation of spiritual life is described by ‘on that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst’, ‘the beautiful virgins’ being those with affections for good, and ‘the young men’ those with affections for truth.<\/p>\n
[2] In Isaiah,<\/p>\n
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the\u00a0waters; and he who has no money, come, buy [and] eat! Come and buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isa. 55:1.<\/p>\n
‘Everyone who thirsts, come to the\u00a0waters’ plainly stands for one desiring the truths of faith. ‘Buying wine and milk without price’ stands for acquiring from the Lord, thus for nothing, the good and truth of faith. For the meaning of ‘the\u00a0waters’ as the truth of faith, see above in 8562; for ‘wine’ as the good of faith, 6377; and also ‘milk’, 2184. Anyone may see that ‘going to the\u00a0waters\u00a0and buying wine and milk’ is not used to mean the acquisition of wine and milk, but the kinds of things that belong to heaven and the Church.<\/p>\n
[3] The like occurs in John,<\/p>\n
To him who thirsts I will give from the spring of the\u00a0water\u00a0of life for nothing. Rev. 21:6.<\/p>\n
‘The spring of the\u00a0water\u00a0of life’ stands for the truth and good of faith. ‘The thirsting one’ stands for one desiring them from affection for them, as accords with the Lord’s words in John,<\/p>\n
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, Everyone who drinks of thiswater\u00a0will thirst again, but he who drinks of the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give him will never thirst. But the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give will become in him a spring of\u00a0water\u00a0welling up into eternal life. John 4:13, 14.<\/p>\n
‘Water’ here plainly stands for the truth of faith obtained from the Word, and so from the Lord; and ‘not thirsting’ stands for his being never again in want of truth.<\/p>\n
[4] Something similar appears elsewhere in John,<\/p>\n
Jesus said, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35.<\/p>\n
And in the same gospel,<\/p>\n
Jesus cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his belly will flow rivers of living\u00a0water. John 7:37, 38.<\/p>\n
‘Thirsting stands for desiring truth, ‘drinking for receiving instruction, and ‘rivers of living\u00a0water’ for Divine Truth that flows from the Lord alone.<\/p>\n
[5] In Isaiah,<\/p>\n
To the thirsty bring\u00a0water, O inhabitants of the land of Tema; meet with his bread the fugitive. Isa. 21:14.<\/p>\n
‘To the thirsty bring\u00a0water’ stands for giving instruction in truths to one desiring them, and so refreshing the life of his soul. In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
The fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against Jehovah; to empty the soul of the hungry one, and to cause the drink of the thirsting one to fail. Isa 32:6.<\/p>\n
‘The hungry one’ stands for one desiring good, and ‘one thirsting for drink’ for one desiring truth.<\/p>\n
[6] In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
The poor and the needy are seeking\u00a0water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of\u00a0water, and the dry land into wellsprings of\u00a0water. Isa. 41:17, 18.<\/p>\n
It is perfectly clear to anyone that ‘seeking\u00a0water’ is seeking truth, that
\n‘being parched with thirst’ is being deprived of spiritual life owing to the
\nlack of truth, and that ‘streams, springs, a pool, and wellsprings ofwater’
\nare the truths of faith in which they are to receive instruction.<\/p>\n
In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
Say, Jehovah has redeemed His servant Jacob. At that time they will not thirst; in waste places He will lead them. He will make\u00a0waterflow for them from the rock; and He will cleave the rock so thatwater\u00a0flows out. Isa. 48:20, 21.<\/p>\n
‘They will not thirst’ stands for their having no lack of truths; here ‘water’
\nplainly stands for the truths of faith.<\/p>\n
[7] In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
They will not hunger, nor will they thirst, nor will heat or the sun strike them; for the One having mercy on them will lead them, so that also by the wellsprings of\u00a0water\u00a0He will lead them. Isa. 49:10.<\/p>\n
‘They will not hunger’ stands for their having no lack of good, ‘they will
\nnot thirst’ for their having no lack of truth. ‘Wellsprings of\u00a0water’ stands
\nfor cognitions of truth out of the Word.<\/p>\n
[8] Something similar occurs in Moses,<\/p>\n
Jehovah was leading you through a great and frightening wilderness, with
\nserpents, fiery snakes, and scorpions, and dry places where there was no\u00a0water; and He brought\u00a0water\u00a0for you out of the rock of the crag. Deut. 8:15.<\/p>\n
In Isaiah,<\/p>\n
Behold, your God will come. At that time\u00a0waters\u00a0will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the plain of the wilderness; and the dry place will become a pool and the thirsty ground wellsprings ofwater. Isa. 35:4, 6, 7.<\/p>\n
‘Waters\u00a0in the wilderness which will break forth’, ‘streams’, ‘a pool’, and
\n‘wellsprings of\u00a0water’ plainly stand for the truths of faith and cognitions of those truths, which would be received from the Lord when He came into the world.<\/p>\n
[9] In David,<\/p>\n
O God, [You are] my God; in the morning I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; my flesh in a dry land longs for You, and I am weary without\u00a0water. Ps. 63:1.<\/p>\n
Here ‘thirsting’ has reference to truth, and ‘I am weary without\u00a0water’ stands for the fact that there are no truths. ‘Thirst’ stands for a lack of truth and the resulting deprivation of spiritual life in Isaiah,<\/p>\n
Therefore My people will go into exile because they have no knowledge, and their honourable men will be famished,* and their multitude parched with thirst. Isa. 5:13.<\/p>\n
In the same prophet,<\/p>\n
I make the rivers into a desert; their fish become putrid because there is no\u00a0water, and they will die of thirst. Isa. 50:2.<\/p>\n
[10] From all this one may now see what is meant in the present chapter by there was no\u00a0water\u00a0for the people to drink, verse 1; by their saying, Give us\u00a0water\u00a0and let us drink, verse 2; by the people thirsted there for\u00a0water, verse 3; and by the declaration that\u00a0waterwould come out of the rock, verse 6. All of this makes it clear that their grumbling because of the lack of\u00a0water\u00a0means temptation arising from a lack of truth. For when a person enters temptation because of a lack of truth he is gripped by an intense desire for it, and at the same time by despair of eternal salvation on account of this. These feelings are responsible for the grief at that time and for the complaining.<\/p>\n
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 50<\/b><\/p>\n
50. And His voice as the sound of many\u00a0waters. This symbolizes natural Divine truth.
\nA voice, when coming from the Lord, symbolizes Divine truth, as may be seen in no. 37 above.\u00a0Waters\u00a0symbolize truths, and specifically natural truths, which are concepts from the Word, as follows from many passages in the Word, of which we cite only the following:<\/p>\n
…the earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the\u00a0waters\u00a0cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)<\/p>\n
With joy you will draw\u00a0water\u00a0from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)<\/p>\n
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly…: bread will be given him, (and) his\u00a0water\u00a0will be constant. (Isaiah 33:15, 16)<\/p>\n
The poor and needy seek\u00a0water, but there is none; their tongue fails for thirst…. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will turn the wilderness into a pool of\u00a0water, and the dry land into springs of\u00a0water…, that they may see, know, consider and understand…. (Isaiah 41:17, 18, 20)<\/p>\n
I will pour out\u00a0water\u00a0on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit…. (Isaiah 44:3)<\/p>\n
…your light shall rise in the darkness…, that you may be like awatered\u00a0garden, and like an issue of\u00a0water, whose\u00a0waters\u00a0do not deceive. (Isaiah 58:10, 11)<\/p>\n
…My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living\u00a0waters, and hewn themselves cisterns…that hold no\u00a0water. (Jeremiah 2:13)<\/p>\n
Their great ones have sent their young ones for\u00a0water. They went to the cisterns and found no\u00a0water. Their vessels came back empty. (Jeremiah 14:3)<\/p>\n
…they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living\u00a0waters. (Jeremiah 17:13)<\/p>\n
They shall come with weeping, and with prayers I will lead them. I will lead them to a fountain of\u00a0waters, in the way of rectitude…. (Jeremiah 31:9)<\/p>\n
…I will break the staff of bread…and they shall drink\u00a0water\u00a0by measure and with astonishment…, so that…they waste away because of their iniquities. (Ezekiel 4:16, 17; cf. 12:18, 19, Isaiah 51:14)<\/p>\n
Behold, the days will come…when I will send hunger on the land, not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for\u00a0water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. They shall wander from sea to sea, and…shall run to and fro, to hear the word of Jehovah, but shall not find it. In that day the…young women and the young men shall faint for thirst. (Amos 8:11-13)<\/p>\n
In that day…living\u00a0waters\u00a0shall flow from Jerusalem…. (Zechariah 14:8)<\/p>\n
Jehovah is my shepherd…, He leads me to still\u00a0waters. (Psalm 23:1, 2)<\/p>\n
They did not thirst…; He caused\u00a0waters\u00a0to flow from the rock for them, and He split the rock, so that\u00a0waters\u00a0gushed out. (Isaiah 48:21)<\/p>\n
O God…, in the morning will I seek You; My soul thirsts…; …(I am) weary, without\u00a0water. (Psalm 63:1)<\/p>\n
(Jehovah) sends out His word…; He causes (the) wind to blow, so that the\u00a0waters\u00a0flow. (Psalm 147:18)<\/p>\n
Praise (Jehovah), you heavens of heavens, and you\u00a0waters\u00a0from above the heavens! (Psalm 148:4)<\/p>\n
(Jesus sitting by Jacob’s well said to the woman,) “Everyone who drinks of this\u00a0water\u00a0will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the\u00a0waterthat I shall give him will not thirst to eternity. And the\u00a0water\u00a0that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of\u00a0water\u00a0springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:7-15)<\/p>\n
(Jesus said,) “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living\u00a0water.” (John 7:37, 38)<\/p>\n
To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the\u00a0water\u00a0of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)<\/p>\n
He showed (him) a…river of the\u00a0water\u00a0of life…, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)<\/p>\n
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the\u00a0water\u00a0of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)<\/p>\n
Waters\u00a0in these passages mean truths, and it is apparent from this that the sound of many\u00a0waters\u00a0means the Lord’s Divine truth in the Word, as also in the following places:<\/p>\n
Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and His voice was like the sound of many\u00a0waters; and the earth was illumined by His glory. (Ezekiel 43:2)<\/p>\n
I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many\u00a0waters…. (Revelation 14:2)<\/p>\n
The voice of Jehovah is on the\u00a0waters…; Jehovah is on many\u00a0waters. (Psalm 29:3)<\/p>\n
When it is known that\u00a0waters\u00a0in the Word mean truths in the natural self, it can be seen what washings in the Israelite Church symbolized, and also what baptism symbolizes, and moreover what is symbolically meant by these words of the Lord in John,<\/p>\n
Unless one is born of\u00a0water\u00a0and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)<\/p>\n
“Of\u00a0water” means, symbolically, “by truths,” and “of the Spirit” means, symbolically, “by a life in accordance with them.”
\nIn an opposite sense,\u00a0waters\u00a0symbolize falsities, as we will see in subsequent explanations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Water was obviously of tremendous importance in Biblical times (and every other time). It is the basis of life, the essential ingredient in all drinks, and in the form of rivers, lakes and oceans supports life in myriad ways. The spiritual meaning of water, according to Swedenborg, is similarly basic: It represents truth in general, […]<\/p>\n
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